Tip Tuesday – Keeping Kids Engaged

One of the questions from Krystal O was about how to keep kids in the mood for photo shoots.

The best advice that I can give is to keep them engaged. They may not WANT to be there for a portrait session, but kids (and some adults heehe) are easily distracted so you can almost always talk them out of not wanting to be there.

The trick is to keep them talking. Ask them about their favorite shows, games, books. Ask them to tell you jokes. If they don’t want to tell jokes then bust out some of your WORST jokes. This will usually get them to smile at you or if anything give you a courtesy laugh.

If they are still not wanting to talk about their favorites, ask them WHY they don’t want you to take their picture. They can come up with some elaborate explanations that have dramatic expressions involved. I LOVE THAT! They can get so animated when they tell you why they don’t want to be there.

Encourage play. Encourage them to jump around, run around, burn some energy.

Have them bring their favorite, smallest toy. It will be small enough that it won’t be in the pictures, but enough to keep them occupied.

Lastly, if all else fails – tell them NOT to smile. Even the best and angriest of them all end up smiling!